News Brief

Oct. 18, 2012PLATTSBURG, MO |
By: AP

Charges File in Child's Death

The father and stepmother of a 4-year-old northwest Missouri boy are each charged with second-degree murder in his death.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said 34-year-old Justin R. Webb and 32-year-old Melissa D. Webb of Holt were charged Thursday.
Court records say the stepmother called police to the home in Holt on Monday. Workers found Lucas Webb unresponsive and he died later at a hospital.
An autopsy showed the boy died of blunt-force trauma. KSHB-TV reports (http://bit.ly/QwKNPJ ) that an autopsy found the boy's ribs had been injured 6 to 8 weeks before he died.
Both are being held on $500,000 bail in the Clinton County Jail. It was not immediately clear if they had attorneys.
Holt is about 25 miles northeast of Kansas City.